Tom, as we've been down that path a time or two, you're right to be wary. From that piece- " I, for one, wish it were a Democrat choosing the next justice. But since that is not to be, one basic criterion should be paramount: Is the nominee someone who will stand up for the rule of law and say no to a president or Congress that strays beyond the Constitution and laws?" I think it could just be that if you're fearful of Trump, suddenly a strict constructionist might seem like a really good idea. If so, that's quite a turn for the better.

On the other hand, as I sit and write this, I see on Tucker Carlson's show a guest who is from the left, and was a classmate of Goresuch at Harvard Law say "He doesn't seem out of the conservative mainstream, uh, you know, he's in that Kennedy mold, he clerked for Kennedy. uh, (thoughtful moment) the trends have swung a little to the right so he's somewhat to the right of that but within the conservative mainstream." I kid you not. Kennedy mold? wait, uh, he's a little to the right of that...yeah, that's it.

Hope I'm reading that one wrong. Hugh Hewitt, who's pretty informed about this stuff and stressed that no matter your feelings about Trump, this was why you had to vote for him, seems to think it's a great choice.

@ douglas, since he doesn't know where Kennedy actually is on the spectrum - I suspect everything more than a block away is terra incognita to him, his opinion is not especially informative. Intelligent, educated, smart, and wise are overlapping categories, but there's plenty of space that's unshared.

I worried, too, when I heard he'd clerked for Kennedy, a justice who so often sharply disappoints me. Luckily we have lots of opinions of his own; he clearly is a more predictable and stalwart conservative than Kennedy. His opponents know it, too, even if that particular guest is a bit clueless.

On the other hand, Goresuch is a subtle thinker. We may be surprised by some of his future views.